EMTBs with road wheels?

[FOG]

A few of my friends have got E road bikes as well as EMTBs. I don't have the cash to buy an e road bike but could stretch to some new wheels. Has anybody tried putting wheels with narrower rims and [still beefy] road tyres on an EMTB? Was it worth it? Is the weight difference still too great? I have done this with ordinary MTBs which produced a great 'gravel' bike at a fraction of the cost of buying new.

 

[Phill_B_34]

I'm about to try Continental Speed King RaceSport 29" x 2.2 on my Jam2 (std RaceFace AR30 29" wheel with 30mm internal width) for some road/path riding. They get a good review for easy rolling but not so good in the wet....time will tell.

 

[mark.ai]

Tagging @Thomas as he seems to do a lot of road riding and might have some useful feedback. Worth checking out his Levo build: 2019 Turbo Levo Custom Build Finished - EMTB Forums

 

[Mr CRUD]

I've set my Commencal up for road simply by swapping the tyres for Schwalbe big ben, £24 each. Hell of a difference on road and cinder tracks. Definitely worth doing if you commute all week, then swap tyres for the weekend mudfest.

 

[Slowroller]

I've set my Commencal up for road simply by swapping the tyres for Schwalbe big ben, £24 each. Hell of a difference on road and cinder tracks. Definitely worth doing if you commute all week, then swap tyres for the weekend mudfest.

This, or a set of cheap 29er wheels with Big Bens. Changing to a smaller diameter tire changes the geometry a little, it's better to use a tire closer in size to what it was designed for. The very small difference in rolling resistence won't matter with an ebike.

 

[Mr CRUD]

But... it's unlikely you will match up a new cassette with your old chain, so swapping wheels will possibly involve a new chain and 2 new cassettes.
Geometry doesn't change, just ride height. Not so crucial on the road. Works great for me!

 

[Slowroller]

Ride height changes, so does the trail on the fork, which for me anyway is where any oddness is felt. It's not a major problem unless you're sticking 26mm tires in there, which I've tried... lol. I switch wheelsets on one of my bikes all the time, chains and cassettes work ok unless one set is really worn. It's manageable. I run tubeless, so swapping tires out per ride isn't feasible for me.

 

[flash]

I don't run skinny slicks. I run 2.5 hookworms on a second set of wheels. Huge difference in rolling resistance and range. Wheels swap out perfectly with no adjustments required. Literally takes one minute between road and off road.

Still want a Paralane2 though

Gordon

 

[Topov]

I got a cheap pair of wheels for my Lapierre put a set of 2.0 big ben tyres on, under £20 and did over 700miles on them, battery consumption improved obviously, and never looked back, commuted 20miles each way and got it down to under the hour. wheels also swapped with no issues so I could just change the wheels at the weekend and hit the trails.
Now I have more than one bike

 

[Apples]

I run these on my 29 work/pub bike in summer it’s hilarious but wicked quick , makes for a giggle if I don’t take the Levo

 

[Lad]

On my Jam2 HT I'm swapping a cheap Shimano 27.5 wheelset with Schwalbe Super MotoX 2.4" tyres for a weekly commute. Makes huge difference in rolling and noise.

Friday night wheels get swapped for the original ARC40 with Maxxis Minions DHF/DHR 2.6".
Feels like having two bikes. The swap takes about 2-3 minutes.

 

[dirt huffer]

I put Vee Rubber Trax Fatty's on my bike and the roll alright. Probably not as good as Hookworms but I scored a great deal on them and they come in widths up to 3.00" I'm running 2.8" and my bike rides like a Cadillac

 

[Welshman]

I put 47mm conti tours on my cube acid for commuting, quick, slick and huge difference in battery usage......next to no noise too

 

[GuyBerry]

Schwalbe G-One speed 29x2,35", I run them on my cheap wheelset. Makes 25% difference in range due to lower rolling resistance

 

[SvenHelgason]

I use my Jam2 almost only for commuting, and on tarmac.
Just swapped out the Nobby Nic's 2.8 for Super Moto 2.8

Huge difference in rolling resistance and acceleration. I need to check this better over the next feew weeks and comment more.

 

[Cyclopath1000]

I just posted in a separate post a second wheelset 29" x 2.6 schwabe g force. I'm going to move the cassette back and forth to avoid unequal cassette wear seeing the smooth tires are for an occasional ride not daily switching. Otherwise both wheel are totally complete. Omg what a difference.